


All For You

by ironxprince



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Peter Parker, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironxprince/pseuds/ironxprince
Summary: Three weeks after the snap that saved the world, Peter learns he was the reason behind it. He learns that Tony risked death, and now has to live with the ramifications, both physical and mental, all because ofhim.This doesn't sit right with him.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 250





	All For You

**Author's Note:**

> For the lovely prompt requested by @captaincorgi128 on Tumblr.

Weeks after the snap that saved the world, things are getting back to normal. Families have reunited and are returning to comfortable lifestyles, insurances and mortgages are getting sorted out, and just about everybody is learning what it means to live again, taking their collective first, full breath in five years.

The Avengers are settling in, learning to relax. A portion of them are retiring, Tony, Clint, and Scott stepping back so the younger generation can step in. Some have even left earth entirely, deciding to help on other planets, to pursue calls for help across the universe.

Peter’s family seems to have grown three sizes, and he couldn’t be happier.

After realizing their apartment had been given to another family, Tony offered May and Peter a spot in his lake house, and, after slight reluctance from May, they accepted (where else were they going to go?). Peter now has a father figure, a... a  _ younger sister _ , and something of a (second) doting aunt. Add in everyone else Tony invited to live with them, whether permanently or for a temporary stay, and Peter now has uncles in Happy and Rhodes and Bruce, and about, hm, a thousand cousins in the form of Avengers he never got the chance to properly meet.

Some had been snapped, others working tirelessly for five years to undo it, but they’re all here now, some with smiles sadder than others, some with age lines holding more weight. Nevertheless, they’re here. They’re all alive, and Peter hears it’s all because of Tony.

He keeps receiving praise, thanks, gifts, pats on the (good) shoulder, comforting words. Peter barely gets a moment in with Tony in between all the well-wishers; it’s only on the third week back when he finally finds a quiet moment, one where he won’t be interrupted if he just stops to enjoy it.

The sun is setting outside, sinking below the horizon, and Peter sees Tony’s figure silhouetted against the glow. His back is to the house as he sits on a small, hand-crafted wooden bench that faces the pond. After a look around to prove there’s no one in sight, that they won’t be interrupted, that Peter’s not bothering any well-meaning visitors, he steps outside, wandering his way to Tony’s side. As he gets closer he sees all the intricate detail on the bench, all the specific line work, ornate images that must’ve been Pepper’s design and a smiley face and a heart that obviously belongs to Morgan.

Peter hovers beside the bench and Tony looks up. There are extra wrinkles on his face; he looks weary and so, so tired. The smile that graces his features when he sees Peter looks unnatural, like he’s gone too long without it. Nevertheless Tony pushes himself to the far end of the bench, gesturing to his side indicating where Peter should sit, and he does it with such levity Peter’s left to wonder what must’ve happened to this man in the last five years, what Peter must’ve caused.

Gingerly, not wanting to startle Tony or interrupt this serene moment, Peter lowers himself to the bench, gazing out over the lake. It’s quiet for a couple of moments as the pair just breathes together.

“I don’t smell, you know,” Tony murmurs. Peter frowns up at Tony, whose smile is so wide it evenly replaces the sinking sun. With shock, Peter realizes Tony must’ve been watching him this whole time, that damn smile lighting up the place.

“You can come a bit closer,” Tony says again. “Come on, I thought five y-” Tony stops, clears his throat, and plasters on the smile once more. This time, it’s more tense, evidently fake. “Three weeks without me would have you jumping into my arms.”

Peter smiles as he slides closer, and Tony places his arm over Peter’s shoulders. “I’m scared to break you, old man,” Peter teases.

“Oh, and who’s the old man that saved your butt?”

“You’re never going to let me forget that, huh?” Peter says with a taut grin; really, it’s no laughing matter. Tony tightens his grip around Peter’s shoulder, pulling him closer as he presses a kiss to the top of Peter’s head. “Saved my butt, and the whole world’s,” Peter adds quietly.

For a moment Tony doesn’t respond, looking out at the lake. “Couldn’t live without you, Pete,” he says. “Don’t know how I survived those five years. I was… a ghost, a shell of myself. Morgan, she helped me out, introduced this new light to my life… but at night, I’d lay awake, and I’d think about you. All I would give to get you back.”

Peter frowns, realization settling over him and setting his blood cold. “Get  _ me _ back?” he repeats, the air around him suddenly colder, the sky darkening a handful of shades.

“Of course,” Tony says easily, like he didn’t just tilt Peter’s world on its axis.

“You did it for-” The words get caught in Peter’s throat.  _ For me? _

Tony leans back, shifting to look Peter in the eye, and the movement makes him wince - Peter catches it. He says nothing as Tony rests his hands on Peter’s shoulders, the metal feeling abnormally cold on Peter’s left. Peter can’t suppress a shudder at the alien sensation, and Tony frowns.

“Are you alright?” he asks, worry evident in his features. “Are you cold? We can go inside if you’re cold-”

“No,” Peter says quickly, adding in a faux smile at the last moment. “Let’s not ruin this.”  _ I can’t ruin anything else. Don’t let me ruin anything else _ .

“Okay,” Tony says slowly, resettling on the bench and sliding closer to Peter, trying to warm the kid with his body heat. “You’re so tense, kid. There’s nothing to worry about anymore, see? We’re all safe, we’re all happy-”

“You’re missing an arm.”

“Miniscule detail,” Tony says with a smile. “I’d do it again. Lose my left arm, too. Though, s-s-snapping would be considerably more difficult with my non-dominant-”

Peter sits up, ramrod straight. “You’re stuttering.”

Tony tries, and fails, to hide a fearful look behind an awkward smile. “So?”

“You never stutter. I’ve never heard it before, not once.”

Tony shrugs. “Well, you’ve missed a lot. I’m old now, as you seem to love to remind me-”

“Snap your fingers,” Peter says, and Tony freezes.

“I- What? What are you trying to-”

“Can you snap your fingers, for me? I want to see you do it.”

“Peter, I don’t-”

“Please.”

Tony nods, taking a shaky breath. He lifts his right arm, the apparatus moving smoothly and flawlessly - Peter would expect nothing less from Tony Stark’s own handiwork, so when Tony’s hand begins trembling, he knows it’s not the machinery. It might be the cold, but that shouldn’t have any effect on the bionic limb; Tony had solved the freezing issue with his suits over a decade ago. When Tony touches his long finger to his thumb and the trembling becomes so violent Peter hears the metal chattering, he knows the truth. He knows what happened; apparently, what had happened because of  _ him _ .

Tony focuses hard, harder than he should have to, eyes zeroing in on his trembling digits as he attempts to force them to slide over each other, to make the motion that saved the universe.

“Tony,” Peter says quietly.  _ Tony _ , not Mr. Stark, not anymore.

Tony doesn’t react, focused on the task that should be so simple, but one the famed mechanic, for the life of him, can’t seem to do. “ _ Tony _ ,” Peter repeats, pleading.

Tony drops his right arm, cradling it in his left. He looks down at it, panting, before lifting his eyes to Peter’s. He looks…  _ scared _ , but whether it’s of the memories haunting him or the truth, Peter doesn’t know. Either is equally terrifying.

“I’m sorry,” Peter whispers. Tony shakes his head, breathing heavy.

“No, no,” he sighs, sagging back against the bench. “Something as big as that, it’s going to leave some damage behind - physical, mental, you name it-”

“That’s not it,” Peter says, shaking his head. Tony looks up at him, concerned. “I’m sorry for… for making you do it.”

“Do…  _ what?  _ The battle? The s-snap?” Tony laughs as if it’s a joke, but Peter’s not laughing, and Tony’s smile falls. “Why would you apologize for that?” he demands, and the anger in his voice has Peter subconsciously leaning back, settling a ways away on the bench.

“It was because of me,” Peter whispers. Tony just nods.

“Of course. Of course it was! What, you think I would just leave you? You know I couldn’t have done that.”

“But you lost your arm,” Peter notes, a heat beginning to grow behind his eyes as he stares out at the darkening lake. “You- you could’ve  _ died _ , Tony! And you have a wife and a daughter and… and family who cares about you, and you can’t have given all that up, just for me!”

Tony slides closer to Peter, and Peter has to fight the urge to pull away. He can’t be close to Tony; Tony is too susceptible, at too great a risk of being hurt, and Peter has hurt him enough already. He can’t risk anything else.

“Obviously I wasn’t planning on dying,” Tony says, and the word makes Peter flinch. He feels Tony watching him carefully. Peter refuses to look back. “I needed you here, Pete. You deserve to live. If this is my life over yours, there’s no competition. I’ll choose you in a heartbeat. I  _ did _ , and I would again-”

“Why?” Peter exclaims, standing from the bench.

Tony looks up at him calmly, not twitching a muscle. “Because I love you,” he says, simple as that. “Because you’re my son, and a parent shouldn’t have to live without their child.”

“What about a child without their parent, huh?” Peter asks, gesturing back toward the house, where orange lights glow through frosted windows, too gentle, too serene. “You could’ve just left Morgan, and you  _ would’ve _ , for me!” Peter whispers harshly. “You keep saying I’m her big brother, like that’s any consolation, but I can’t take care of her! I barely even know her, and you think  _ that _ \- a big brother who doesn’t even know her sister - is better than a father?”

Tears are streaming down Peter’s face, but he doesn’t care, doesn’t pay them any mind. All he’s thinking of is Tony’s death, because Tony could’ve died. He  _ would’ve _ . No matter how much he says that wasn’t his plan, it was still a possibility, and he was fully aware of it.

Tony could’ve died, and it would have been Peter’s fault, and now Tony has the nerve to look calmly up at Peter, like he doesn’t even care?

“Sit down,” Tony says gently. Peter bites his tongue, looking somewhere behind the bench, somewhere over Tony’s shoulder. “Peter,” he says, more firmly. Peter meets his eyes. “Have a seat, please.”

Dejectedly, Peter drops back to the bench and Tony drapes his arm over Peter’s shoulders once more as they gaze out across the lake. This time Tony’s hold is strong, unrelenting. He’s not letting Peter go, not again. Never again.

“I’m not going to apologize for what I did,” Tony says. “I would do it all again, in a heartbeat. I’d do anything to keep you safe, because you-  _ fuck _ , Peter, you died in my arms,” Tony says, voice growing louder, more agitated. “And I know this is difficult for you to understand, because you don’t have children and you’re so  _ damn  _ selfless, but your child dying, you having to be there while it happens.... Peter, I’m never going to forget that. The sight, the feeling, you- you begging me to save you, hell, even the  _ smell  _ of that damned planet-”

Tony stops suddenly, tilting his head back and looking up at the stars as he blinks the tears away. Peter wipes away some of his own, leaning closer against Tony’s side.

Finally Tony drops his gaze, smiling softly down at Peter. “I will not apologize for saving your life. I didn’t doubt it, not while planning, not during the battle, and definitely not as those damn gems fused themselves into my skin. Not for a moment.” Peter takes a trembling breath, turning his head into Tony’s shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut. Tony lifts his right arm, tucking Peter into a warm embrace - and that’s what it is,  _ warm _ . Peter doesn’t feel the metal. All he feels is  _ Tony _ .

“I love you,” Tony says, “and that’s all there is to it. Do you understand?”  _ Do you forgive me? Are we okay? _

Blindly, and without hesitating, Peter nods against Tony’s chest. “Good,” Tony says simply as he begins to rock them back and forth on the bench.

They remain there for longer than necessary, until over half the lights in the house turn off, until May creeps out a while later and settles a blanket over them, squeezing Tony’s shoulder in gratitude and pressing a kiss to the top of Peter’s head.

The sun is long gone when Tony finally rouses Peter, when the boy wipes at bleary eyes and clings to Tony’s side as they stand, when Tony guides them back into the house.

The next morning, there’s a new addition to the wooden bench, a scratch that wasn’t there the night before.

It’s a circle and eight adjoining sticks, a spider, etched in underneath the right armrest. Peter will brush his hand over it whenever he rests on the bench, and once Tony discovers it, he finds himself doing the same. No one else discovers it, because this action is just for them, in the eyes of many.


End file.
